A pilot is faced with two major tasks; i.e. (1) to accurately determine and remain constantly aware of the current aircraft status including direction, speed, altitude, location and the rates of change of each; and (2) to quickly and accurately control the aircraft to effectuate a change in these parameters to achieve a desired status of the aircraft including, for example, setting or altering the aircraft's flight-plan.
To this end, avionics display systems deployed aboard aircraft has been extensively engineered to visually convey a considerable amount of flight information in an intuitive and readily comprehendible manner. In conventional avionics display systems, much of the information visually expressed on a cockpit display, (e.g., a primary flight display, a navigation display, etc.) pertains to aircraft parameters (e.g., the heading, drift, roll, and pitch of the host aircraft), nearby geographical features (e.g., mountain peaks, runways, etc.), and current weather conditions (e.g. developing storm cells).
A further improvement occurred with the introduction of flight management systems, a type of specialized computer that includes a database of pre-stored navigation landmark, such as an airport, or may represent an imaginary intersection (a waypoint) in the sky. A pilot may enter a flight plan by selecting a sequential series of waypoints through which the aircraft will travel.
System integrators have built flight control systems that facilitate the use of avionics systems; e.g., the PRIMUS EPIC suite of integrated flight electronics such as flight management systems (FMS), autopilots, cockpit displays, flight controls, and the like, as well as interoperability with navigational instruments such as global positioning systems (GPS), inertial reference systems (IRS), and the like. In particular, the PRIMUS EPIC suite includes an integrated avionics display that includes cursor control, windowing of information, movable navigation maps, ground-based weather, real-time video, aircraft utility system display and control, and the like. The PRIMUS EPIC suite includes a “point-and-click” navigation capability referred to as “Graphical INAV.” As part of the “point-and-click” functionality, pilots may click on a map location (e.g. waypoint) to obtain a menu of the tasks that may be executed with respect to that location. An interface for obtaining additional information is presented to the pilot, and the pilot enters information with a keyboard, mouse/cursor, keypad or the like.
In the existing INAV for an FMS, the selection of an operation on a task menu of the INAV causes a dialog box to be displayed (i.e. in most cases) relevant to the selected operation. The dialog box presents various parameters that may be modified and then executed. For example, to define a holding pattern around a waypoint, for example, a pilot simply clicks on the waypoint, selects “hold” from a menu of task options, and enters or modifies parameters such as hold radial, hold leg distance, and hold direction, as appropriate. It is also known to provide dialog boxes in response to pilot commands to enable task parameters to be input or modified. Certain dialog boxes include graphical functionality and incorporate human factors enhancements.
In certain operations, a preview may be presented reflecting any modifications of the parameters presented in the dialog box while modifying the parameters; however, the preview is presented within the dialog box and is not referenced to the actual flight plan being modified. Thus, the user will not be able to see what is under the dialog box (e.g. weather, terrain, traffic, ADS-B IN information, etc.) on and around the selected waypoint. In fact, the dialog box may cover-up as much as 25% of the INAV screen including the aircraft symbol indicating the current aircraft position and a majority of the displayed information.
Although such systems represent improvements in avionics technology, further enhancements to cockpit displays that are easier to use and create interfaces for common pilot tasks that are intuitive and easy to use may be desirable. More specifically, it would be desirable to provide further enhancements to cockpit displays that are easier to use and create interfaces for flight plan operations for creating and inserting waypoints and altitude constraints.